"Phil & Friends' second set began with a cover of Skynyrd's "Mississippi Kid" and continued with another nod to the South in the Dead's "Alabama Getaway." Those waiting to hear Lesh play "Free Bird" finally had their chance towards the end of the closing stanza when the band worked the oft-requested classic into "Dark Star." "

"Do not write so that you can be understood, write so that you cannot be misunderstood." -Epictetus

Mississippi Kid is a cool tune, going to high school in the redneck part of northern Virginia I had to learn to play pretty much every Lynyrd Skynyrd song at one point or another. My Dead band has played Things Goin' On and we do Call Me the Breeze (but closer to JJ's original version). Back in the 80s I used to jam with some buddies and we worked up a jam that alternated between the Freebird ending and the ending of Yes' Starship Tooper (Würm) - FreeWürm!

I have said this before, Freebird is, without a doubt one of the top 10 rock and roll classics of all time. Just because a whole generation of people spent their entire college careers drinking beer and listening to Freebird, does not make it a bad song. Sorry if you are sick of the song, burnt out on the song or whatever.Freebird is a rock and roll classic, and I bet Jerry would agree!

I think you could do an Uncle Johns Band into Freebird if you tried. And if you just do the song part, and not the ending jam, it would be easier to melt it in to something else.

Freebird freaking rocks, and I have and would play it anytime.

Great slide guitar playing on that song, Bobby could have learned something there!

Anybody on this board written a better rock and roll song lately? ever?

Agreed, there's a reason why the tune got overplayed. Wasn't it written for Duane Allman? Plus, say what you will, but Skynyrd was one helluva rock band. Totally different animal than the Dead but damn good at what they did. That was some of the first stuff I learned to play and that attitude has kinda stuck with me. Rossington used 2 G strings instead of a B string and stuck a screwdriver or something under the strings to raise them off the fretboard on that slide part. Plus, Steve Gaines was one badass guitar player that got cut down way before his time. I saw the original band when I lived in Germany in the 70s and the newer iterations a couple of times.

Shortly after Allman's death, Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd dedicated the song "Free Bird", to the memory of Duane Allman. Van Zant would sometimes allude to this in concert; in the "Free Bird" performance at Skynyrd's famed 1976 appearance at Knebworth, England, Van Zant says to pianist Billy Powell, "Play it for Duane Allman." Many people assume the song was written about Allman. However, it had actually been written well before he died. (Allen Collins wrote the song after his then girlfriend asked him the question "if I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?")

Shortly after Allman's death, Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd dedicated the song "Free Bird", to the memory of Duane Allman. Van Zant would sometimes allude to this in concert; in the "Free Bird" performance at Skynyrd's famed 1976 appearance at Knebworth, England, Van Zant says to pianist Billy Powell, "Play it for Duane Allman." Many people assume the song was written about Allman. However, it had actually been written well before he died. (Allen Collins wrote the song after his then girlfriend asked him the question "if I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?")

Freebird is an all time classic and a great song, i'll give you that .I've jammed to it many-a-nightBut, like you pointed out.I'm one of the one's that's sick of it. I've heard it so many times I don't want to hear it again.Stairway to Heaven and Turn the Page too.